Hurdy Gurdy Notes from Chicago

    Ida Noyce Hall, the site of the 54^th University of Chicago Folk Festival last weekend rang with the music of guitars, banjos, fiddles, hurdy-gurdies, the human voice singing shanty songs and Shape notes.  The college and several buildings date back as far as the 1890’s and the musical instruments playing in the halls even farther.

    Along with all the classes gathering in the various rooms, there were jam sessions both large and small continually drawing visitors to stop and listen. Some burst into dance while others pulled their instruments from cases and joined the jamming.

   The Hurdy-Gurdy class was led by Gary Plazyk, with the help of Vince Nichols, and Mel Dorries. An intriguing collection of technique, history, a song or two and then more ‘getting to know the gurdy’ including answers to questions such as what makes the sound, why are you cranking it,  and how old is the instrument, all made the hour too short. After the session Mel jammed with various groups while I listened and enjoyed the music. Yes, I don’t play only help build. That leaves my hands free at the festivals to clap and sing! 

We went back on Sunday for more jamming, pleased to find that the gurdy was well accepted in the variety of jamming instruments. Of course Mel had the new Maestro with a mellow sound that blends well with the variety of instruments found in each jamming group.

Monday afternoon found us standing in line in Union Station waiting at gate F for Amtrak train heading to Lapeer, MI. Meanwhile another snow storm raged outside sending air line ticket holders scrambling for a seat in the train instead. Cancelled trains, delayed and full trains   a made the trip home long and a bit exciting! In spite of it all we can’t wait for the next festival and have been invited back to Chicago next February…Wait did I say February?

 

News from Our Hurdy Gurdy World

Pour a hot cup of coffee, chocolate or whatever and let’s think spring. Even tho our shop is warm and except for a couple days with no electricity,  brightly lit, we are so ready for warm weather and some Hurdy-Gurdy gatherings. The 13^th of February we will carry our gurdies to the local Am Track station and head for the 54^th Annual University of Chicago Folk Festival. Too many venues and kinds of instrument s to mention, check out their site at http://www.uofcfolk.org

 In May, we will celebrate Mothers Day week end at the Raintree Music Heritage Festival in Spiceland, Indiana. More information at  http://raintreemusicheritagefestival.weebly.com

July 17-20 of course you will find us at the place we discovered the Hurdy-Gurdy and our destiny thanks to Judith Lindenau and some coaching from Dave Smith.

For more information check out  ODPC FUNFEST  http://dulcimers.com/festival.com   

Once a Hammer dulcimer festival only it has grown into the largest dulcimer festival in the world and has the welcome mat out for all acoustic instruments including the Hurdy-gurdy. Its a wonderful place for anyone who likes playing with others and jamming into the early hours of the morning. See their site for the details.

 And the festival where the Gurdy reigns, The Indiana Hurdy Gurdy Workshop sponsored by “Early Music in Motion”. The 2nd annual Hurdy-Gurdy workshop in the Midwest will take place September 4-8, 2014 in scenic Brown County, Indiana, attracting both amateurs and professionals. It’s a great opportunity to learn and play alongside other enthusiasts in a relaxed atmosphere with renowned teachers and performers. All levels welcome! This excellent workshop is sponsored by Early Music in Motion, Bloomington, Indiana. For complete details on the Hurdy Gurdy Workshop see http://www.earlymusic.org

While the blog has been a bit quiet, our shop certainly hasn’t. We just finished two gurdies calling for new some new skills. Mel designed our first tear drop shaped gurdy with a seafaring theme known as the "Mariner". It was so much fun we decided to offer it on our site soon. The second gurdy called for us to in find someone gifted in Pearl inlay. Both instruments are pictured here.
 

Announcing our Monarch IV

Speaking of Notes from the Hurdy-gurdy world, there are some new notes coming from both our workshop and our living room. For some time Mel has worked on a tenor Gurdy. Not only seeking that special sound, he decided he should have one of his very own with all the bells and whistles…for product improvements of course. Working on it in his spare time as we have several customer orders to complete, it has taken over 3 years from side bending to singing. After years of listening to several of our models warm up and be tweaked in our home, I must admit this Maestro has the sweetest mellow sound I have heard. I actually ask Mel if he will play it this evening while I work on writing or folding laundry.

While the instrument is already acoustically awesome, his goal is to include a pro-quality pickup/ preamp system that adds richer depth and versatility.

 The Maestro IV will be the product of many hours of experimenting, do-overs, and the input of many talented gurdy friends. 

I sound like a grandma bragging on the grandkids. Oh well after all this time she does feel like family. Stay tuned for more updates.

 

 

Indiana Hurdy Gurdy Workshop

The final winding miles taking us to the Waycross  convention center near Bloomington, Indiana were as beautiful in their October colors as last year. Hurdy-gurdy players from across the US both novice and professional enjoyed 4 days of teaching, learning, and most of all great music. Master Instructors Juan Wijngaard, Bob  Green and Michael Opp each taught several classes, Mel Dorries of Hurdy-gurdy Crafters was there with his tool box as well as his Maestro. Others brought a variety of instruments including home built gurdies and even a few by European builders. Other instruments included bagpipes, hammer dulcimer, flute, and concertina.

As you enjoy the sampling of pictures from the weekend, picture your self in one of the classes, at the lunch table, or playing your instrument far into the evening with other musicians picking up a suggestion or sharing one. Then watch this blog for the dates for next year and mark it on your claendar. We would love to see you there.








Good food and good fellowship and lots of gurdy talk.

Michael works one on one as well as with a class. The personal instruction available and everyones willingness to answer your questions makes it the perfect place for beginners as well as experienced musicians.






Hope to see you next year!



Have you started packing your bags for Bloomington? I'd like to tell you we have but actually Mel is putting the finishing touches on a couple gurdies going with him, and I am still fitting zippers to their cases. Oh, well we still have 13 & 1/2 days minus the week ends. For those of you who haven't been before, the grounds are beautiful, the food very plentiful, and the music goes on and on and on. It is a wonderful time to connect with gurdy players from around the US. We hope to see you all there.



Waycross main building just a short walk from the Festival lodgings.
Michael and Mel enjoy a brief break from playing.

Yes the Hurdy-Gurdies are still making beautiful music here at Hurdy-gurdy Crafters. And yes although my last post is 2 years old, much is the same. Mid July, we packed up our tent, booth stuff, and an assortment of instruments for our annual trip to The FunFest at Evart, Michigan and came away committed to be there again next year. Many new gurdy players are coming now including Michael Opp who gave a magnificent show at several evening Jam sessions. Mel, Michael, and Dave Smith did 3 songs on stage during open mike. While still a novelty at a Dulcimer festival, the Hurdy-gurdy is becoming an old friend to many at Evart. We made a new friend this year, Jim, who takes care of the venders including Hurdy-Gurdy Crafters and treated us very well! We missed Brian McCoy who was with us last year. Both he and Michael were great ambassadors giving demonstrations around the festival grounds.

At the end of July we hosted the meeting of the Michigan Violin Builders here at our home and shop. It was a time of teaching, sharing, and exploring some new ideas. Several of the violin luthiers were surprised to discover some commonalities between the instruments and Mel was delighted in their added insights on various aspects of building.

It still not too late to sign up for the Indiana Hurdy-Gurdy Workshop October 3-6, 2013.  More information at www.earlymusicinmotion.org. This is for amateurs and professionals alike. We have several instruments on the bench, two headed for their new owners at this workshop, so I have to get back to work.

Home from Evart

Mel doing a repair
 for a customer.

   We are home from Evart and the ODPC Fun Festival. The tent is put away for another year and we are back in the shop or on the computer. It was the best year yet although not in sales. We met some awesome musicians. Judith L. and David S. both spent time with us in our booth as well as giving demos on the lawn to the many folks who stopped. they are the Gurdy players who introduced us to this marvelous instrument and then encouraged us when we got discouraged.



Returning the minuet to its case.
We sure enjoyed the double booth!

   

Doug our neighbor across the aisle builds wonderful Mountain Dulcimers and surprised us with some proficiency on the Minuet,  better known as the student model. We taught two classes which were more "Meet and Greet" but did provide the opportunity for anyone who wanted to to try their hand on a student model. Next year we will be teaching at least one class one on one(six) for the entire hour with hopefully all six students leaving able to play a tune.
   Oh yes, my Monarchs are still on the bench although one traveled with us to Evart and let people see how many parts there are in a Hurdy-Gurdy! More on that later. Mark your calendar Mid July 2012 if you are anywhere near northern Michigan and check Youtube for loads of pictures of the festival.